Nigerian Born British Soldier Dies During Training Exercise in London

A soldier who recently returned from Afghanistan has died after collapsing while on a three-mile run during a Moorland training exercise.

It happened on a British Army range near Leyburn, North Yorkshire, on Wednesday morning.

The 26-year-old soldier from the 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment was named by the Ministry of Defence today as Private Michael Ihemere, 26, from Nigeria.

North Yorkshire Police are investigating on behalf of the coroner but are not treating the death as suspicious.

A force spokesman said: “officers were called just before 9am on Wednesday 28 August 2013 following a report that a 26-year-old man, serving in the military, had collapsed at Barden Moor, Leyburn.

Sadly, despite the efforts of paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene. His family have been informed. Officers are working with the Army to establish the full circumstances surrounding the death, which is not suspicious, so that a file can be prepared on behalf of the coroner.”

The 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment returned from a tour of Afghanistan in April.

The soldier collapsed on the Army-controlled Catterick ranges while carrying out a three-mile run over rugged terrain.

The soldier’s collapse comes after the deaths of three reservists in the Brecon Beacons who were on an SAS selection training course when temperatures reached 30C in July. Corporal James Dunsby, Lance Corporal Craig Roberts and Trooper Eddie Maher were carrying heavy packs while attempting to cross the Pen y Fan mountain.

Conditions in North Yorkshire were much cooler on Wednesday, around 17C with a slight breeze. It was not clear if soldiers were carrying heavy loads in this exercise.